Chevrolet Corvette: 60 Years of an American Icon, Part 2

1984-2013: C4, C5, and C6

C4: 1984-1996

To The Next Level

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Every new Corvette generation, it seems, misses its due date. The arrival of the fourth-generation cars was pushed back so much that GM executives decided to skip the entire '83 model year and launch the C4 as an '84 model. The first Corvette to wear the stamp of Chief Engineer Dave McLellan, the C4 was an immediate hit with buyers and the media, and it achieved several landmark milestones during its 13-model-year run. McLellan and company had, indeed, taken America's favorite sports car to a whole new level.

Evolution vs. RevolutionMotor Trend devoted a big part of its March '83 issue to the brand-new Corvette, and within that special section was an article by Jim Hall describing the car's genesis, a case of evolution versus revolution. Was it finally time to make Zora Arkus-Duntov's revolutionary dream of a mid-engine Corvette a reality, or should the car take an evolutionary approach and retain its front-engine/rear-drive layout?

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As far back as 1976, the Corvette engineering group and the Chevy 3 design studio were drafting proposals examining each of those architectures. The designers favored Duntov's dream and worked up a clay model based largely around the Aerovette show car. McLellan and his engineers built a mid-engine mule to study the design using a Porsche 914 platform. They realized packaging constraints would force them to use a V-6 in a mid-engine Vette, and the only engine available at the time was the anemic 2.6-liter six-banger available in the X-cars. It was deemed too expensive to power up that engine with a turbocharger, so the engineering team discarded the mid-engine concept, though the designers held onto the dream for a while longer.

Reportedly it was the introduction of the front-engine/rear-drive Porsche 928 in 1977 that put the final nail in the mid-engine Vette's coffin. At that point the mid-engine concepts became "experimental" vehicles once again, and Chevy 3 was tasked with designing a Corvette with the conventional powertrain layout.

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The new car, they were told, had to have more interior room and more cargo capacity, but it had to be shorter overall, have a better firewall-to-axle proportion, and have a lower drag coefficient. Oh, and it had to look like a Corvette. An early rendering, done in October 1978, set down the C4's basic shape, though the car's nose looked a lot like a Firebird's.

It was packaging, in the end, that determined the car's look. To reduce height while not impacting ground clearance, the engineers tucked the exhaust system up into the center tunnel. The windshield pillars were dramatically raked back; and the car's fuel-injected motor was positioned lower in the car, allowing a low hood line. For a while the designers incorporated cooling grilles into the car's nose, but the bottom-feeding radiator didn't need the airflow, so the grilles were replaced with light lenses. A fiberglass model finished in early 1980 was nearly identical to the production version that went on sale in March 1983.

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Beneath the skin the C4 was all-new, too. Transverse monoleaf springs were used at both ends of the car, rack-and-pinion steering was fitted, and the independent rear suspension now used five locating links instead of three. The previous year's 350ci Cross-Fire V-8 (now making 205 hp) returned, as did the 700-R4 automatic transmission, though the Vette could now be ordered with a Doug Nash four-speed manual, which earned the "4+3" nickname for the computer-controlled overdrives in the top three gears. A new Z51 performance suspension was available as an option, which helped the car earn near-1g lateral-force figures in skidpad testing.

Inside, the new interior marked the first use of an all-digital display instead of traditional analog gauges. While it looked high-tech at the time, the instrument panel met with decidedly mixed reviews.
The '84 Corvette was a big hit. High demand and an extended on-sale period netted sales figures of more than 51,000 units, and the car earned all sorts of media accolades, including Motor Trend's Car of the Year award.

Refinements, Enhancements
Good as the C4 was out of the box, revisions started almost immediately. For the '85 model year, the small-block's Cross-Fire throttle-body injection was replaced by Tuned Port Injection, and the new L98 small-block made 25 more hp, 40 more lb-ft of torque, and got better fuel economy. While the press loved how the new Vette's suspension handled around the skidpad, in the real world customers were complaining about the car's stiff ride. So spring rates were softened for both the stock suspension and the Z51 sport package.

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In '86 the Corvette ended its 11-year open-air hiatus with a new convertible model. McLellan had a drop-top in mind when designing the C4, so it didn't take a tremendous amount of extra chassis bracing to make up for the lost roof panel. Antilock brakes became standard equipment aboard the Vette, and aluminum cylinder heads were available as a mid-year addition, adding 5 hp to the L98's output.

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For the second time a Corvette paced the Indianapolis 500, and as was the case eight years earlier, the car used for pace duties was essentially bone stock, save for safety gear and strobe lights.
In '87 the L98's output rose again, to 240 hp, thanks to a change from traditional hydraulic lifters to roller lifters. New for the year was the Z52 suspension option, a "sport" package that teamed most of the Z51 equipment -- quicker steering, Bilstein shocks, oil cooler, heavy-duty radiator, thicker front sway bar, wider wheels -- with the softer stock springs.

The Corvette celebrated its 35th anniversary in 1988, and Chevrolet marked the occasion with a 35th Anniversary Edition. Some 2,050 coupes got the special treatment, which included white paint, white wheels, white leather upholstery with anniversary embroidery, the Z52 suspension, and other goodies. All '88 Vettes saw improvements to the front suspension and brakes, and some were shod with a new six-slot wheel, which appeared only in this model year.

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In '89 the Doug Nash 4+3 manual was replaced by a six-speed ZF gearbox, the infamous "skip shift" transmission. In the interest of fuel economy, this trans was outfitted with what was called Computer-Aided Gear Selection, which forced the driver to shift from First to Fourth if the gear change was made at low speeds or low rpm. Of course, most just revved their Vettes higher before shifting to avoid the annoying First-Fourth change, which didn't help fuel economy at all.

Also in '89 the 17-inch, 12-slot wheels that first appeared on the '88 Z51 and Z52 suspension packages were made standard equipment on all Corvettes, and convertible owners could now order a hardtop option with a glass rear window and fully lined roof.

MORE PHOTOS

Petersen Publishing’s Bob D’Olivo photographed this final shark-era Corvette with one of the first of the C4 models, showing just how much the car’s styling changed between the two generations.

The all-new Corvette won Motor Trend’s Car of the Year award in 1984, with the editors saying it had the “highest excitement quotient of anything to come out of an American factory. Ever.”

In a July 1984 top speed test, the C4's 155.2-mph result besting the likes of a Porsche Carrera, a Lotus Esprit Turbo, and a Ferrari 308GTBi.

The C4 got a serious performance boost in ’85 when the Cross-Fire injected L83 gave way to the Tuned Port L98.

The convertible body style returned to the Corvette lineup in ’86.

Chuck Yeager handled the pace-car driving chores when Corvette returned to Indy in 1986.

Chevrolet planned to introduce the ZR-1 as an ’89 model, and several prototypes were built using a LT5 rear-end badge that didn’t make it into production. That badge is visible on the ZR-1 in this Chevrolet press photo for the ’89 model year.

Lotus, working in concert with GM, developed the LT5 and its dual overhead-cam, 32-valve top-end.

Motor Trend recorded a quarter-mile pass of 13.13 seconds at 110 mph in the ZR-1.

The King of the Hill was the king of the June ’93 Motor Trend Top Speed shootout, with a 180-mph top speed. The LT1-powered Anniversary coupe came in third, just behind a Viper, with a 162-mph top end.

A ’95 LT1 coupe was yet again the fastest car in an MT top-speed test, registering 167 mph. The 89-mph reading on the cop’s radar machine was fixed there for photo purposes; later the picture was retouched so the Vette’s 167 reading appeared on the sign.

The C4 generation ended in grand style with two special models, the Collector Edition and the Grand Sport, the latter seen here in full tire-roasting glory.

Also going out in style was the Gen II small-block, which appeared in all manual-trans ’96 Corvettes as the LT4.

Motor Trend produced a lengthy special section devoted to the Corvette’s birthday for its April ’03 issue. The section kicked off with this photo by staff photographer David Newhardt, with one of each of the Corvette’s generations parked on the famous Corkscrew turn at Laguna Seca.

The ’97 Corvette was the embodiment of the term “all new” when it debuted at the North American International Auto Show in January 1997.

The LS1 engine shared displacement and its cam-in-block architecture with the previous LT1/LT4 engine, but little else.

Not only were the C5’s performance parameters raised over the C4, but its cockpit was redesigned with an eye towards more comfort and greater convenience.

It took a year before the C5 was offered in a convertible version. Motor Trend Editor C. Van Tune took a soft-top ’98 Vette on a 1,700-mile exploration of Route 66.

While on his Route 66 adventure, Van Tune had the opportunity to photograph his tester next to “the oldest production Corvette in existence, serial number 003.”

Corvettes paced the Indy 500 three times during the C5 run, the first time in 1998 when Parnelli Jones took the wheel for ailing golfer Greg Norman.

Several external design cues made the Z06 easy to spot, starting with the hardtop roof. Z06 models also got an exclusive wheel design and distinctive brake cooling ducts in the rocker panels.

The ’03 version of the LS6 produced 55 hp and 25 lb-ft of torque over the base LS1

Racer Justin Bell was the hired hot-shoe for Motor Trend's July 2003 test. He called the Z06 "my performance benchmark."

The C5 generation ended with the optional Commemorative Edition models, built in tribute to the success the C5-R was having in ALMS and at Le Mans.

Thanks to ongoing improvements, the ’13 edition is the best C6 yet. A bewildering array of models, powertrains, and option packages means you can configure your Corvette exactly the way you want it.

The “marriage” of the C6 body and mechanicals duplicates the way the C5 was constructed. The hydroformed frame is the foundation for the body structure, while a pair of cradles hold the mechanical components.

Many Z06 styling features were incorporated into the hugely successful C6.R race car. This C6.R (chassis #002) won its class at the 2005 24 Hours of Le Mans race, in spite of suffering a flat tire early in the race.

New for 2005 was an updated powerplant called the LS2. The 364ci engine had a compression ratio of 10.9:1, and produced 400 hp and 400 lb-ft of torque.

Corvette fans cheered when the new LS7 debuted in the ’06 Z06. It displaced 427 ci, thanks to a 4.125-inch bore and a 4.000-inch stroke. Compression was 11.0:1. The dry-sump engine produced 505 hp and 470 lb-ft of torque.

The LS2 was superseded by the LS3 in 2008. It boasted a displacement of 376 ci, a compression ratio of 10.7:1, and output figures of 430 hp and 424 lb-ft of torque. The optional NPP exhaust added another 6 horses and 4 lb-ft.

The new LS9 engine elevated the Corvette to supercar status in 2009. The LS9 had the same dimensions as the LS3 but used an intercooled Eaton TVS2300 supercharger to pump up the power to 638 horses and 604 lb-ft of torque.

This photo shows the interior of a very-early-production C6. Though comfortable and ergonomically sound, the ’05-’07 cabin earned demerits for its utilitarian look.

The interior of this ’13 60th Anniversary 427 Convertible is considerably more luxurious, and fitted with a host of creature comforts not found in earlier versions.

This Machine Silver Z06 was unveiled at the National Corvette Museum in April 2005. A bare Z06 chassis can be seen in the background.

The ’08 Corvette underwent a mid-cycle upgrade, which included the new LS3 engine and many refinements to the steering, suspension, and driveline. In addition, 500 cars were built to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the first Indy 500 Corvette.

Thanks to its supercharged LS9 engine, the ’09 ZR1 was the first 200-mph Corvette. It was also the first Corvette to be fitted with Michelin tires instead of Goodyears. VETTE contributor Walt Thurn snapped this photo at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show, where the car was unveiled.

VETTE put a very-early-production ZR1 through its paces at Sebring International Raceway for its March, ’09 issue.

The big news for 2010 was the introduction of the Grand Sport coupe and convertible. The steel-framed Grand Sport featured Z06-style bodywork, brakes, and wheels but retained the base LS3 engine.

Corvette celebrated Chevrolet’s 100th Anniversary by offering a Centennial Edition package on all models. With its Carbon Flash Metallic paint and bright-red brake calipers, it was a true head turner.

When Cooksey retired in 2008, he was honored with a special run of 505 Z06s. These cars—also known as Corvette 427 Limited Editions—featured his signature on the glovebox lid. He’s shown here with serial number 001.

VETTE magazine had the opportunity to spend two weeks with a Z06 in Germany, during which time its editors learned firsthand how fast and agile the car was at speed.

On May 8, 2009, Bowling Green produced the 1,500,000th Corvette. The 3LT convertible was displayed at the National Corvette Museum next to ’53 Corvette number 130.

Chevy is closing out the C6 production run with this stunning 60th Anniversary package, available on all Corvette models.